Nehellenia's Redemption
by Torn Fox
Summary: AU. Remember when Sailor Jupiter reached out and asked Nehellenia if she had any friends like Serena (Usagi)? What if she tried a little harder? How would the events in Sailor Stars unfold then? R & R.


"Jupiter!" She held out her hand, her planetery symbol flashed briefly. "Oak Evolution!" She spun around and around before finally releasing the attack at Queen Nehellenia. But it was useless as her enemy raised a barrier of petals, blocking the attack with almost no effort at all. "What!?"

"This is my palace of nightmares!" The queen of darkness announced to Sailor Jupiter. "It is what I used to control, the Kingdom of Darkness!"

Jupiter looked around her, this was supposed to be a Kingdom of Darkness? It looked nothing like she would have thought! "This is your home?" She asked.

Nehellenia continued to talk. "I was sealed here by the White Moon Princess when I reached out to that world of light...But In the darkness, I am without an equal!" The bolt of black lightining caught Jupiter by surprise, and sent her flying along the ground until she finally stopped next to a dreaming Serena. "The precious moonlight you all hold so dear does not breach this darkness!"

"You're lying!" Sailor Jupiter insisted while getting to her feet.

"I am not. In this world, I am invincible! Even all of you together could not defeat me!" The queen boasted while turning her gaze onto Serena. "Next, I shall extinguish the light of the White Moon!" Nehellenia raised her hand to attack, "Forever!" The black lightining flew with speed and power towards her target.

"_No_!" Sailor Jupiter screamed. She threw herself in the way of the deadly attack, taking it head on and falling to one knee.

"Foolish! Do you really intend to die protecting her? Is she even worth risking your life for?" Nehellenia pondered aloud as she locked eyes with her foe. "This girl has abandoned everything to immerse herself in a sweet dream!"

Jupiter rose to her feet again, shaking from the pain inflicted upon her. "Can't you see?" She asked, Nehellenia's gaze changed to one of slight confusion. "Even though Serena's impulsive, and a crybaby most of the time, she always cheers us up!" The dark queen looked at Serena as her foe continued to speak. "She always acts on behalf of others when needed! Even if it means risking her own life for another's!" Jupiter's expression changed from anger to wonder. "Don't you have friends like her, who would risk their lives for your own?"

An old feeling returned to Nehellenia. She didn't know what it was exactly, but she almost felt sorry for doing this to them. Almost. "Shut up!" She shot Jupiter with another bolt of lightining, brining her down once more. "My subjects loved me! Why would it be any different now?"

Sailor Jupiter shakily stood up again. "You said you wanted to stay beautiful forever. You were beautiful back then, but now you've gone throwing your own beauty away!" She was taking a large gamble, she didn't actually know what kind of ruler Nehellenia had been. But she had to try.

Nehellenia wasn't sure what to make of this. Throwing her own beauty away? "Nonsense! I am as beautiful now as I was then!"

"Only on the outside. Your subjects loved you for what was on the inside!" Jupiter insisted, knowing she could not best the dark queen in battle. Especially not on her home turf.

"Enough! I won't listen to such lies!" Nehellenia repeatedly shot Sailor Jupiter with the black lightining, each time she was rewarded with screams of pain from her victim. Once she was satisfied, she waited to see what Jupiter would do about this.

To her surprise, the Sailor Scout stood back up. "If you keep doing this, then your beauty will be gone forever. You know that it's what's on the inside that is true beauty."

Queen Nehellenia remained silent. She knew the girl had a point. But the one who freed her had encouraged her to take revenge on them. "I..." She could not decide.

"Stop throwing yourself away." Jupiter encouraged. She was hurting badly from the torture the dark queen had enacted. "I guess without a friend like Serena, you wouldn't completely understand what i'm trying to say."

"No! I'm not listening to you!" Queen Nehellenia shot her into a far off stone pillar, not hesitating to rush over to see her work. She was about to trap Jupiter in a mirror like the others, but stopped herself as the same feeling resurfaced again.

"You aren't alone. If you would just let me-let us-help you, i'm sure you'll be able to regain your true beauty." Sailor Jupiter said. She was clutching her side in pain from the pillar's impact.

Nehellenia touched down on the ground in front of Jupiter, her eyes shimmering with sadness. She now knew what the old feeling was. Regret. "Friends..." She whispered. That was what she was missing.

"It's not too late to turn things around. Just say you're sorry, i'll forgive you. Then, we can turn things around, together. I'm sure Serena would' do the same." Jupiter smiled. She sailor of thunder was stubborn, but caring.

"I...I'm..." Nehellenia began to tear up, how could she have been so blind? She had turned herself into a hidous monster with her obsession to remain beautiful. Ironically, it was the very things she had hoped to avoid.

Sailor Jupiter stood up, trying her best not to keel over from the pain she was in. "You're almost there. We can fix this together. You, me, the other Sailor Scouts, _and _Serena all working as one."

Nehellenia looked down in sorrow. "I'm...I'm sorry!" She began to cry. She had done such horrible things in her quest to remain beautiful. Turning her own subjects into beasts to do her bidding, brainwashing Sailor Chibi Moon's four guardians, adn worst of all she had tried to overthrow the Moon Kingdom out of jealousy. Nehellenia geniunely felt sorry for these things, but who could blame her?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Sailor Jupiter smiling. She seemed to know what Nehellenia was realizing at that moment, just how much wrong she had caused them. "Friends?" She asked.

The queen was in a state of shock. "You...You would give me that chance?" She continued to cry.

"I would, but i'm not the leader." Jupiter pointed at Serena, still in her happy little dream. Nehellenia waved her hand, and Serena awoke to see the scene.

"Jupiter!" The blonde came running to her trusted friend, seemingly oblivous to the fact the dark queen stood right next to her.

"Well, Queen Nehellenia? Go ahead." Jupiter said with a smile, still holding her side in pain.

Nehellenia looked her enemy in the eye, face to face. "Sailor Moon...I'm so dearly sorry for what I have done. Would you be willing to help me? To turn things around, that is. To be my...my friend?" Being the kind and caring girl she was, Serena embraced the queen of the Black Moon in a hug. "What is this?" She asked Jupiter, not familiar with the action.

"It's another way of saying 'yes'. You might wanna get familiar with it, Serena's quite the hugger." Jupiter happily joked.

Serena let go of the queen, who smiled wholeheartedly. Happiness returned to her heart. "I suppose that means you'll be letting my friends go?"

"Of course." With a wave of the hand, the three appeared in Nehellenia's throne room. Hovering in the airs were many mirrors, each imprisoning a Sailor Scout within. At the queen's will, the mirrors shattered. The girls each fell to the floor, soon regaining conciousness.

The discussion was brief, during which Nehellenia removed the glass from Darien's eye. She also had time to think about her future. What would she do? When the time came to leave the palace behind, the queen was not sure of herself. "Will I ever come back?" She wondered aloud as she stood with the group of her newfound friends.

"Who knows?" Sailor Venus said back as she joined hands with the others. It was time to go back home for them, and time to introduce Queen Nehellenia to what Earth had to offer.

The Sailor Scouts began the countdown. "Mercury Crystal Power!"

"Mars Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

"Venus Crystal Power!"

The Outer Sailor Scouts followed the example, pooling their energy into the effort. The energy that surrounded them and the queen was warm and comforting. Nehellenia's eyes changed to how they were oh so long ago, before her nightmare began. "I am ready." She told them.

The glow of the energy intensified, and the Sailor Scouts announced the action in unison. "Sailor Teleport!" They all vanished in a flash, it was time to start over.

Nehellenia's nightmare was over, but for everyone else it was just beginning.

A clad golden figure sat on her throne, enraged by this turn of events. "It's nothing to worry about." She reminded herself, "I am the strongest guardian in the _galaxy_!"

**This chapter was short, others will be much longer. Reviews welcome!**


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